The Arrangement .(7)

Abruptly, Leonardo turned from the window to quell the arousing thoughts. He still wanted her to the point of distraction, and despite acting as if she were being sentenced to the guillotine, he knew she wanted him, too.

There was no mistaking the way her body softened against his.

Sooner or later they would enjoy each other’s bodies. As far as he was concerned, the sooner the better.





Chapter Three


Downstairs, Alexa hailed a taxi and made her way over to her brother’s apartment. She was suffering through a multitude of emotions. She was excited to tell him the good news, but she was bone weary from her trying ordeal with Leonardo. It had sapped more of her strength than she realized it would.

In the cab, she rested her head back and closed her eyes.

“Maybe this time I won’t let you leave.”

Alexa drew a shaky breath. She began to tremble, tremble because she suddenly longed to resume their marriage and give him what he wanted.

Seeing him again had been jarring. She had felt the tug of physical attraction that had roped her in from the first day she met him. Being intimate with him was not something she expected would ever happen again, but the thought of it caused a longing in her body that was not only difficult to understand, it posed an unsettling distraction.

Alexa rummaged through her purse for her makeup. She would have to give the performance of an award-winning actress to convince Xander everything was fine, that she and Leonardo had decided to reconcile. Maybe it was because they were twins, but she and her brother had a sixth sense where each other was concerned. They could take one look at each other and determine if there was something wrong.

She reapplied the reddish-bronze color to her lips and ran her fingers through her wind-tousled ebony curls to tame them. She needed to look her best to convince her brother that all was right with the world. She didn’t want him to feel guilty about how she came to get the money from Leonardo. Now he could pay his creditor and resume concentrating on the bakery instead of worrying about how he would take care of his wife and children.

Using her key, Alexa entered the townhouse Xander shared with his wife and four children. R & B music blared from the back, and that meant Xander was hard at work on one of his culinary creations.

“Xander!” she called out.

She made her way down the carpeted hall to the back, where the kitchen was. He looked up and smiled, hesitantly, when she entered. Just as she expected, he was leaning over the marble countertop of the island in the big kitchen, kneading a mountain of dough, his shirtsleeves rolled up and his forearms dusted with flour. The wait had taken its toll on him, as well, because he always baked when he was stressed.

He was slim, but muscular, and he shared similar facial features with Alexa. He was five feet eleven, and his brown eyes, in her opinion, were his best feature. She always teased him and told him he had kind puppy dog eyes.

“Turn the music down,” Alexa said loudly, dropping her purse onto the barstool on the opposite side of the island from her brother.

Xander nodded and then walked over to the wall near the sink and turned off the radio mounted there. He washed his hands and then turned to face her again.

“Well?”

He looked so young and worried, Alexa felt her heart squeeze in her chest. It only served to confirm she had made the right decision.

Although they were only minutes apart, she often felt like the older, more mature sibling. Their parents passed away in a car accident just after their graduation, and Xander hadn’t taken it well. She tried to be his rock, even though she grieved deeply herself. She’d been even more concerned when, only months later, he eloped to Las Vegas and married his high school sweetheart. Ten years and four children later, Xander was still happily married, despite his financial struggles. She, however, was headed for divorce. So much for being the more mature one.

“Good news,” Alexa said brightly, beginning her performance. “He gave me a check.”

Xander breathed a heavy sigh, flung his head backward, and cried out,

“Yesss!” Without warning, he raced around the island and lifted Alexa from the floor, spinning her around in an exuberant hug.

She laughed. “Put me down!”

Dropping her to her feet, Xander looked at Alexa. “What did he say?

How did he react? How did you convince him?” He was so excited his eyes were glowing with pleasure.

“Well …” Alexa hedged, making a show of getting up on the other barstool next to her purse. “It wasn’t hard. He was very open to it, surprisingly enough. I didn’t have to talk him into it.”

Xander looked stunned. “He just said yes—just like that?” He snapped his fingers. “I can’t believe it.”